Atna Resources placed its Pinson mine in Humboldt County, Nevada, on care and maintenance in late June. The company said the decision was made in response to declining gold prices and to cut costs while conserving developed reserves. Ore stockpiles at Pinson were being shipped to third-party processing facilities to support the cost of demobilization and the temporary shutdown of operations.
A core team will remain at the Pinson mine site to maintain developed infrastructure and to consolidate technical data to use in preparing a revised operating plan. Recent work has demonstrated that improvements to future project economics can be achieved in several areas.
Atna continues to produce gold at its Briggs mine in California. Waste stripping operations at Briggs in the first half of 2013 accessed planned ore supplies in the Goldtooth South pit. This higher ore production is increasing the rate of ore deliveries to the leach pad. Increased gold production and reduced unit costs are anticipated in the second half of 2013 due to this increased ore supply.
Atna expects Briggs 2013 gold production to fall in the range of 35,000 to 43,000 oz.
To conserve cash reserves and demonstrate confidence in the company, members of Atna’s executive team have elected to defer a portion of their salaries for future payment, and Atna’s board of directors has elected to take future compensation in restricted stock units rather than cash.
